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Move over, wall outlets. Scientists have created a ‘bionic mushroom’ that can produce electricity — and this powerful fungi could be used to juice up devices and other equipment in the future.

Researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology recently transformed an average white button mushroom into a bionic mushroom by supercharging it with 3D-printed, electricity-generating cyanobacteria clusters and graphene nanoribbon swirls that collect the current. Their work, which was published in the Nov. 7 issue of Nano Letters, aims to demonstrate how cells biological machinery systems can be used to benefit the environment and healthcare.

“In this case, our system – this bionic mushroom – produces electricity,” said Manu Mannoor, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stevens. “By integrating cyanobacteria that can produce electricity, with nanoscale materials capable of collecting the current, we were able to better access the unique properties of both, augment them, and create an entirely new functional bionic system.”

Mannoor and Sudeep Joshi, a postdoctoral fellow in his lab, tested white button mushrooms to see if they could provide the right nutrients, moisture, pH, and temperature for cyanobacteria to produce electricity for extended periods of time.

Their testing revealed that the cyanobacteria cells lasted more days when placed on a white button mushroom cap compared to a silicone and dead mushroom setting. They used a robotic arm-based 3D printer to print an “electronic ink” with the graphene nanoribbons and printed a “bio-ink” containing cyanobacteria onto the mushroom’s cap in a spiral pattern.

At locations where the spiral pattern intersected with the electronic ink, electrons were able to transfer through cyanobacteria outer membranes to the conductive graphene ribbons. When they shined a light on the mushroom, it activated cyanobacterial photosynthesis and produced a photocurrent.

Additionally, both researchers discovered that the amount of electricity produced can vary depending on how cyanobacteria are packed together. When cyanobacteria are more densely packed, they’re more likely to generate electricity. The 3D printing helped cyanobacteria increase their electricity-producing activity, because they were placed close together on top of the mushroom.

“With this work, we can imagine enormous opportunities for next-generation bio-hybrid applications. For example, some bacteria can glow, while others sense toxins or produce fuel,” said Mannoor. “By seamlessly integrating these microbes with nanomaterials, we could potentially realize many other amazing designer bio-hybrids for the environment, defense, healthcare and many other fields.”